Strategic Habitat Conservation Documents

The challenges facing conservation requires us to think about and do conservation differently. Unless we adopt a strategic approach to conservation, species and the habitats on which they depend will continue to be lost, regardless of the hard work and good intentions of dedicated professionals. Recognizing this fact, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) leadership adopted Strategic Habitat Conservation – a landscape-scale, collaboratively oriented framework –a
decade ago.

In the following pages, we present a future vision that is mindful of the past. We examine the forces and trends that even now are shaping 21st century conservation in ways very different from that of the previous century. We continue with a broad analysis of the implications to the future Service and the growing realization that the change before us is, in many respects, change without precedent. We conclude with an assessment of the transformational change that will be needed by the Service — change already underway — to go beyond the successes of our past to new vistas of opportunity that lie ahead.

Crosswalk Presentation of the Appalachian LCC 5-Year Work Plan aligned with other Nationally Recognized Conservation Planning Frameworks. The tasks outlined in the 5-Year Work Plan align with both the FWS Strategic Habitat Conservation framework and the Northeast Regional Conservation framework.

In this special edition of Fish & Wildlife News, read how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is putting Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC) into practice. To ensure a bright future for fish and wildlife in the face of such widespread threats as drought, climate change and large-scale habitat fragmentation, the Service first endorsed SHC as the Service’s conservation approach in 2006. SHC relies on an adaptive management framework to inform decisions about where and how to deliver conservation efficiently with partners to achieve predicted biological outcomes.

In 2012, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) committed to using Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC) as an approach to address the challenges of the 21st century. As part of implementing that commitment, the Service distributed a version of the draft Technical Guidance on Selecting Species for Design of Landscape Scale Conservation (Technical Guidance) as a practical step in the biological planning component of the SHC approach. Five external peer reviewers have completed a formal, independent, external scientific peer review of the latest draft Technical Guidance. The panel was tasked specifically to review the scientific
information in the Technical Guidance and its practical application to conservation management.

\We envision the FWS working collaboratively with partners to develop and implement a landscape approach to habitat conservation, leading to what we term strategic habitat conservation. Success will depend on how quickly and effectively our organizational approach evolves, including steps to better communicate with and work alongside our partners.

A Guide to Implementing the Technical Elements of Strategic Habitat Conservation. Although the urgency is real, building capacity for SHC will be an organizational evolution, not an overnight change. Institutionalizing the SHC framework is a marathon and this document is intended to chart the course and set a purposeful and competitive pace.